Every year several children, mostly age three and under, die in parked cars because a driver forgot the child in a restraint system, such as a car seat in the rear seat, and left the child in the vehicle for several hours either in hot or very cold weather. Most of the deaths result from heat stroke. The victim may have been a sleeping infant who did not make any noise to remind the driver of his/her presence. These tragedies are preventable.
One car manufacturer has developed a low-energy radar sensor focused on the rear seating area that can detect the motion of a breathing pet or infant sleeping in a rear-facing child safety seat. When the temperature is at or is likely to increase to potentially dangerous levels, a unique alarm will sound to alert passersby. Other motor vehicle detection systems detect whether a passenger is present in particular seats, the size of the occupant, and adjusts the air bags, shoulder restraining belts, and other features of the automobile, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,939,795 to Yu. U.S. Pat. No. 5,570,903 to Meister et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,993,015 to Fredricks detect the location and orientation of a child safety seat in the vehicle and accordingly, may adjust the deployment of the air bag. EP 1039077A2 to Bingle et al. teaches a safety sensing and/or release assembly that can detect occupants, temperature in a confined space, such as a trunk, and provides a manual or automatic release mechanism to egress from the confined space. This mechanism can be disabled. Another manufacturer has announced a detection system that will override the deployment of a passenger side air bag if it detects the presence of a child safety seat and if the seat is rear-facing.
While these systems may be effective, they do pose some disadvantages. Some of these systems are highly engineered and very expensive and are thus intended for only newly manufactured automobiles. The one system described above that actually detects the motion of a child/pet in the back seat will sound an alarm only when a dangerous condition exists or is likely to exist. Another concern is that the alarm will sound only if the temperature rises; what happens when the temperature drops significantly to jeopardize safety and well-being of the vehicle's occupants?
There is thus a need for a reliable and less expensive solution to detect when a driver exits a vehicle and if the vehicle has remaining occupants, regardless of the environmental conditions. There further exists a need for an occupant alarm system that can be integrated with existing sensors in a motor vehicle. There further exists an need for an occupant alarm system that is portable and is easily implementable. Objects, features, and characteristics of the invention; methods, operation, and functions of the related elements of the structure; combination of parts; and economies of manufacture will become apparent from the following detailed description of the various embodiments and accompanying figures, all of which form a part of this specification, wherein like reference numerals designate corresponding parts in the various figures.